


Papa don't preach

by jalpari



Series: Linzin diaries! [2]
Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Childhood Memories, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, First Kiss, First Love, Friendship, Kissing, Love, Memories, Puppy Love, Romance, Teen Romance, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-02-18
Packaged: 2019-10-31 01:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17839724
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jalpari/pseuds/jalpari
Summary: This is an ongoing series of one shots about linzin's life after the end of LoK, picking off where my previous one shot series ended - with Linzin finally together!Tenzin is livid at Kai and Jinora and it's up to Lin to step in and make peace.This one shot bounces between the present day when Tenzin and Lin are finally together and she has moved to air temple island permanently, the period between seasons 3 and 4 when Tenzin and Pema are separating and Lin and Jinora develop a bond of their own, and a major throwback to Tenzin's and Lin's childhood. Linzin and Kainora fluff.





	Papa don't preach

" _Jinora_!"

Tenzin's voice boomed across the hall. Jinora and Kai jumped in the corridor, pulling apart in a fluster.

"What in the name…"

Jinora's face heated up as she turned to see her father, storming towards them. She saw Kai groan and rub the back of his neck from the corner of her eye.

_They were so dead._

"...of spirits do you think you are doing!?"

"Dad...calm down...I...I…"

"Master Tenzin", Kai stepped forward only to be stopped by a large hand held up in front of his face.

"Do _not_ interrupt me when I am speaking with my _daughter_ , Kai".

Kai could feel the boiling rage in Tenzin's voice as he pronounced his name. He looked at Jinora as if apologizing for the situation.

"Dad...we…"

"We _what_ , Jinora?"

Neither of them said a word. Tenzin threw his head back and dragged his hands down his face in despair.

"Tenzin! What is going on over..."

Jinora let out a breath of relief as she saw Lin appear with hurried steps and a worried face. It had been several months since Lin had finally moved to Air Temple Island, permanently this time. Jinora, in particular, enjoyed her presence especially when she needed an ally against her father. And that's exactly what she would needed right now.

"Why are you screaming bloody murder?"

Lin paused on seeing the two kids standing meek and red-faced as a livid Tenzin fumed and glowered at them. She caught Jinora's pleading 'help me' gaze as the girl curled her lips inwards and looked at her feet. Lin smirked.

_This was going to be fun. Tricky. But so much fun._

She cleared her throat and stood beside Tenzin, hiding her grin.

* * *

She could hear the shuffling outside her office door, she also knew whose feet were doing the shuffling. She waited patiently, letting them make up their own mind. It had been over a year since Korra' return to the South Pole for rehabilitation and Pema's and Tenzin's separation had begun. And _these_ visits were becoming a commonplace event.

But this time was different. The kid's heart was fluttering with every passing second. Eventually, there was a knock.

"Come in."

The knob turned and Lin looked up as Jinora peeked in.

"Umm...Chief Beifong...uh…"

"Yes, Jinora…" Lin sat back and gave the child a calm smile.

"I'm sorry to disturb you...you must be busy...actually I think I should go…"

Jinora had begun to withdraw when Lin rolled her eyes and let out a laugh.

"You certainly are your father's daughter! Come inside and sit down."

Jinora let out a giggle took small steps towards Lin, closing the door behind her. Jinora looked around nervously but then dragged her gaze to face Lin and managed a smile. As she looked at Lin closely, she saw a gleam in her eyes that betrayed her joy at seeing Jinora. She had started dropping by the station more and more of late. At first, their interactions had been about the ongoing efforts to gather more airbenders.

Gradually, however, the meetings had turned into conversations over tea. Lin would just smile to herself and continue to nod every time the girl steered the conversation to more personal things. Over time, her respect for Jinora had grown into admiration and affection. As she eyed the girl sitting across her desk, nervous and almost embarrassed, Lin felt a wave of warmth come over her.

"Is everything alright, kid?"

Jinora sighed and slowly began.

"It's about...I...uh...there's this boy."

Lin suppressed a smirk. _Tenzin's going to be so pissed._

"I would have spoken to mom, but she's at the eastern air temple for a few weeks."

Jinora peered at Lin from under her eyelashes, unsure of what she would say. To her surprise and relief, Lin pulled up a chair and sat beside her.

"Go ahead, tell me about this boy. Need me to do a background check? Rough him up a bit for ya?"

Jinora burst into laughter as she saw Lin raise an eyebrow and stare at her with a serious expression.

"No…! That won't be necessary."

"Is it Kai?"

"Umm...yeah...how did you…"

"Come on Jinora, I _am_ a detective."

"This is so embarrassing", Jinora covered her face and sank into her seat. "I never thought that _I_ would ever be this affected by a _boy._ "

"Tell me about it...", Lin scoffed but immediately stopped. _What did that even mean?_ Lin rolled her eyes at herself. She caught Jinora looking at her, expectantly, and grunted.

"I meant...I've been there, kid. Can you imagine _me_ being all twisted up over a _guy_?"

Lin chuckled as she shook her head. Neither of them mentioned the name but they both knew who Lin was talking about. Lin leaned back in her chair crossing her arms across her chest. A pleasant smile spread across her face as her mind began to reminisce.

* * *

She could feel Tenzin's body heat rise as he stared at Kai and Jinora. By her red lips and Kai's flushed face, Lin knew what Tenzin had walked in on. She just hoped, for the sake of the children, that this hadn't been their first kiss. She knew all too well, how scarring _that_ could be. She let out an involuntary chuckle. Tenzin turned at her in surprise.

"You're laughing?"

Lin swallowed her giggle, cursing herself.

"No, no...Tenzin I think _we_ should take this conversation somewhere else. Don't you think?"

"I guess you're rig…"

"Alright kids, be on your way now. Tenzin and I need to have a little chat in his study."

Lin gestured to them to keep walking as she took a bewildered Tenzin by his arm. She turned back to catch Jinora throwing her a grateful smile.

"What? Wait...no that's not what I...we need to talk to _them_...Lin...I'm not done with you two..."

"Calm down, Tenzin", Lin whispered as she pushed him into his study and closed the door behind them.

"Lin! You don't understand what happened. They were...they…"

"They were kissing?"

Tenzin froze in his spot, arms floating mid air, eyes wide open, mouth open even wider. Lin shook her head and walked over to him. She forced his arms down, and pushed his jaws shut.

"Tenzin...you there?"

Tenzin exhaled and collapsed on his armchair groaning and muttering.

"It's that boy... _Kai_...he is such a…"

"You do know that Jinora likes him, right?"

"Don't say that! Jinora is a smart girl and she is so much better than…"

Lin walked over to Tenzin and patted him as he leaned his head into her stomach wrapping his arms around her waist.

"She's not a kid anymore, airhead. She's almost 15."

"And he's 16", Tenzin groaned. Lin couldn't help but laugh at what Tenzin meant to imply.

"You know...they're older than we were when…"

Tenzin looked up at her in astonishment as she stood grinning. His mind completed her sentence and he smiled in resignation, pulling her down on his lap. He wrapped one arm around her waist and held her hand with the other. His mind began to reminisce and a blush spread across his face.

"For their sake at least, I hope this wasn't their _first_ kiss."

Lin laughed as his scowl returned.

* * *

" _Come on, airhead. Faster!"_

" _I'm trying Lin!"_

_She could hear Tenzin gasping for air behind her as she ran ahead, racing towards the water. She loved their family vacations to Ember Island._ _She splashed into the water until she was waist deep in it. Tenzin finally caught up with her, huffing and puffing. She looked on in amusement as he clutched his sides and tried to control his wheezing._

" _You do realize you could have just swooped ahead of me on an air scooter, right?"_

_Tenzin's panting stopped for a second as he processed this. He smacked his forehead and groaned and Lin burst into peals of laughter._

_He stood up straight and watched Lin's face light up with ridicule and joy and felt his stomach do a tumble._

" _Yeah...of course I did. I just wanted to play fair." He gave her a smug look._

" _Tenzin! Linny! Be careful. Don't go too far out. Stay where I can see you."_

_They looked at Katara, who stood on the beach frantically waving her arms about to get their attention._

" _We'll be fine! After all, we have the world's best waterbender watching over us, don't we!?" Lin yelled back in glee._

_Katara dropped her arms and shoulders in resignation and headed back to the other adults shaking her head with a chuckle. Aang and Toph looked at her knowingly._

" _What did you think Lin was going to say to your warnings, sugar queen?" Toph laughed._

_Aang looked out to the two kids, as they splashed and played and talked and laughed. He sighed._

" _I can't believe it's their birthday already. One more year gone by. Just like that."_

" _Yup", Toph mumbled. "Thirteen and fourteen. Hard to believe sometimes. That our kids are teenagers."_

_As the adults gazed in their direction, Tenzin and Lin were completely oblivious to their audience. This was their favorite time of the year. Their birthday!_

" _Let's make a promise", Lin held her pinky out._

" _Promise?"_

" _Yeah", she glared at him poking at his hand with her pinky._

_Tenzin lifted his pinky up and Lin caught it immediately in hers._

" _Repeat after me. I promise we will always celebrate our birthdays together on Ember Island."_

_Tenzin laughed._

" _Lin! Of course we will! Why would we ever NOT…?"_

" _Just make the promise airhead!" Lin glowered._

_Tenzin smiled at the determined girl in front of him, unable to imagine a world in which this promise would have been necessary. This was how it would always be. To him, it was as simple as that._

_Lin looked at the airbender and softened her expression. Of course he wouldn't understand. His mother and father were still together. His family was still in one piece. His heart didn't know of separation and silent tears._

_They stood there in the lap of the warm waves, fingers intertwined, smiling at each other. Each had felt a spark when their fingers met. Neither had acknowledged the new sensation._

* * *

"Lin…?"

Jinora's gentle voice snapped her out of her reverie. She saw the girl, seated beside her, look at her expectantly. Lin let out a small laugh, mostly aimed at herself. She couldn't believe that was she was remembering this far away memory, let alone sharing it with Tenzin's daughter.

"Want to go for a walk, kid?"

Lin stood up, gesturing at the girl. If she was going to do this, she was going to do it right. And the police station was no place for such a conversation. They stepped out into the warm summer afternoon, led forward by a gentle humid breeze. As they walked towards the river trail, Lin felt Jinora's eyes on her the entire time.

"It was on my birthday, my thirteenth birthday. That was when I felt it for the first time. The knot in my stomach."

"Wow…" Jinora's voice trailed off in wonder.

"So...do you feel a knot too?" Lin glanced at the girl with a grin.

Jinora blushed and nodded.

"I felt the knot when I met him back in the Earth Kingdom for the first time. And it just keeps growing. I'm not even sure if he…"

"Oh, he does." Lin interrupted her with confidence. "Believe me."

Jinora's face lit up when she saw Lin smile and wink at her.

"So...what did you do...when you...you know, felt the knot?"

"It was a little different for me. I had known him my entire life. And until that day, I had never felt the 'knot'. It felt very strange. One moment, he was just Ten…"

Lin held her breath a second too late, muttering a curse at herself. She felt Jinora's hand touching her arm.

"It's alright. I know." She smiled and gave a light tug on Lin's arm to keep walking. Lin obliged.

"One moment, he was just a...friend; and the next, he was suddenly a boy who made my heart jump."

They walked a while in silence and then sat on a bench by the river.

"We would always go to Ember Island for our birthday", Lin tilted her head towards Jinora. "We share the same birthday."

Jinora looked at her in surprise. She had not known this about them.

"After the party had ended, everyone retired to their rooms for the night. At some point during the celebrations, one of the glances exchanged between us had made my heart flutter. It was the first time I had ever felt something like that. And I had no idea what the reason was."

"It's annoying."

"Yeah, it was." Lin chuckled.

"I couldn't sleep so I found my way back to the kitchen and began searching for some leftover cake. Before I could even take the first bite, I felt his footsteps behind me. He was holding a small box in his hand. It was a gift for me."

* * *

" _I came to your room but you weren't there."_

" _I can't seem to fall asleep." Lin mumbled stuffing her mouth with a slice of cake._

_Tenzin laughed and came closer._

" _Here. I got this for you."_

_Lin could feel the strange knot again_ _as she reached out to take the box_ _. It was starting to irritate her._

" _What's this, Tenzin?" She shook it trying to guess what it could have contained._

" _Come on", he led her to the balcony. The sight of the ocean bathed in moonlight and starlight, silently swaying in the distance, took her breath away._

" _Go on...open it."_

_In the moonlight, his smile seemed angelic. She flinched under his direct gaze for the first time. The knot grew tighter. She steadied herself as she opened the box, all the while reminding herself that this was Tenzin...Tenzin...her best friend. This was her 'airhead' airbender, she scoffed at herself._

_The box contained a necklace. She held it up and saw the pendant had a carving of the earth kingdom emblem with a small difference. At the center, there were three spirals - the emblem of the air nation._

_Lin eyed the carving for a few seconds in wonder, it was beautiful. Somehow the design was both strong and delicate. As her mind tried to understand how this was possible, Tenzin took the necklace from her hand._

" _See this", he pointed at the pendant and spoke softly. "This is you."_

_Lin's eyes moved from the carving to him as Tenzin continued looking at the pendant and explaining._

" _The earth symbol on the outside is strong and stubborn. Just like you of course", he chuckled. "But the air symbol inside is free and light. Also like you, well...at least...deep within you."_

_He looked up at her smiling as he spoke the soothing reassuring words. Lin still hadn't said a word. Tenzin paused and then hesitantly added one more thing._

" _It's also...us."_

_These words sucked Lin back to the balcony they stood on. As if coming out of a daze, she managed to mumble something._

" _It's...beautiful...thanks...I...this…"_

" _Do you want me to put it on?"_

_Tenzin looked at her eagerly. Lin could only manage a nod as she looked down and turned a little to the side. Tenzin wrapped the necklace around her neck and tied it at the back. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt the slight heaviness of the pendant as it lay back against her skin. Her heart skipped several beats when she felt Tenzin's finger graze her skin as he touched the pendant._

" _It looks even better on you than I had imagined, Lin!"_

" _Does it?"_

_Lin managed to whisper softly as she looked up to face him again. For reasons she could not fathom at the time, Lin felt the knot travel from her stomach to her throat. Words evaded her. All she knew was that she could not peel her eyes off of Tenzin. He seemed to be caught in a trance as well. Before either one of them knew what was happening, their lips had come closer and everything else had become a blur._

" _Tenzin! Lin! Is that you two out there?"_

_They snapped back with a sudden rush of fear and confusion. It was Toph, standing at her bedroom window on one side of the balcony. They both sighed with some relief but immediately tensed up and turned away from each other as they realized what had just happened._

" _What's going on?"_

_They gasped as another figure emerged from a window on the other side of the balcony. It was Katara._

" _Oh, nothing sweetness. I thought that burglars were sneaking in but it's just the kids out on the balcony."_

" _At this time? Get inside, kids. It's cold out here!" Katara leaned out and motioned at them to go inside. Next to her, Aang's head popped out. He was visibly still half asleep._

_Tenzin and Lin remained mute, unsure of what to say. Almost in sync, they took a step forward to go back into the house when Toph's words shattered their last remaining shred of relief._

" _Oh, I don't think they gotta worry about feeling cold, sugar queen. They were keeping each other pretty warm if you ask me."_

_Tenzin stumbled on his own foot and Lin froze to the spot, mortified._

" _What?" Aang was now fully awake. "What do you mean?!"_

" _Oh, come on twinkletoes! Looks like we have to restart your seismic sense training. They were kissing. I coulda felt their crazy heartbeats from a mile away!"_

_Lin choked on her own breath and Tenzin finally turned to look at her. A hundred different feelings sped through their veins, sparked by their first eye contact since the...kiss. She could feel a blush spread across her cheek as his face looked flushed. He saw the exhilarating look in her eyes as his widened in disbelief. Their hands found their way to each other and the voices around them were lost in the ocean breeze._

" _Kissing!?" Katara exclaimed at Toph, confused by how casually she had proclaimed this._

" _It's not funny, Toph!" Aang responded warily as his eyes darted between Katara and Toph._

" _I'm telling you two", Toph declared haughtily._

" _I'm sure if we just ask the kids…" Katara paused mid-sentence as she looked back down to the balcony._

" _They're gone, aren't they?" Toph stated smugly._

" _Yep", Aang replied._

* * *

Lin waited for Jinora to recover from her fit of laughter. She rolled her eyes, mostly at herself though. She could not believe she had just shared the story of her first kiss with Jinora, of all the people. _Tenzin would not be happy about this._ She smirked.

"I wish I could have seen their faces!" Jinora sputtered in between giggles. "I can surely imagine Grandma's expression. She must have been scandalized." Another ripple of laughter erupted from the girl. Lin joined in the laughter this time.

"Oh boy, were we in for it the next day."

"Where did you guys run off to from the balcony?" Jinora composed herself once more.

Lin raised an eyebrow in her direction.

"That's enough from me. Now it's _your_ turn."

"Me?"

"Yes...go on...tell me more about this 'knot' of yours."

Jinora's face reddened and she began mumbling.

"No...no...we didn't...I haven't kissed…"

Lin chuckled and patted the girl on her shoulder.

"Relax, kid."

"I did kiss him on his cheek...when we rescued him and the other airbenders from the earth queen…"

Lin could see the color on Jinora's face deepening. She began to realize why the child had come to her. She had come to know Jinora better and better over the last several months. She wasn't surprised that amidst everything that was going on, the conflicts both within her family and outside, Jinora had stepped up to every challenge. As the eldest child and the youngest Master.

But with Lin, Jinora didn't have to be any of those roles. She didn't owe Lin anything. She observed the girl as all her responsibilities melted away leaving behind a young teenager on the bench beside her. Jinora didn't need any advice. She just wanted to talk.

And Lin let her. They sat there for another hour as Jinora spoke about her growing friendship with Kai, her increasing attachment, how it concerned her, how it thrilled her, how she was scared of what Tenzin would think, how it had been difficult because they both traveled so much for the air nation's mission, and on and on.

"Why is it so overwhelming?" Jinora sighed at the end. "How can something be so calming and thrilling and confusing and scary all at the same time?"

"What can I say, kid. Love is funny like that."

Jinora sighed and they finally got up and headed back to the station.

"Thanks...Aunt Lin."

* * *

Tenzin was still scowling as Lin sat on his lap.

"What do you mean...oh spirits! For _my_ sake, I hope this _was_ their first kiss. And last."

Lin laughed uncontrollably. Tenzin sighed in resignation and looked at her. He saw the amusement and twinkle in her eye. Her special bond with Jinora had not escaped his notice. He was silently thankful for it. There were times where he had been tempted to ask Lin about the things Jinora shared with her and not him. But he knew better than to interrogate the Chief of Police. He couldn't help but let a smile escape his lips as he remembered that night on the balcony.

"Do you still have the necklace?"

He asked gently grazing her skin where the pendant had once lain. Lin grew silent and Tenzin was almost beginning to regret his question when he heard her reply softly.

"Yes."

* * *

_They stood waist deep in the water, still holding hands._

_They hadn't let go as they escaped from the balcony right under their bickering parents._

_They hadn't let go as they ran onto the beach under the moonlight._

_They hadn't let go when they splashed into the ocean._

_They hadn't let go when they stopped in waist deep water._

_They hadn't let go when they slowly turned to face each other._

_They hadn't let go when their lips had found their way back to each other._

* * *

The next morning, Jinora waited outside her father's study as Lin had asked her to do. After a few minutes, Lin opened the door and called her inside. Jinora noticed her necklace from the corner of her eye as she walked towards Tenzin. One glance at his face, though, was enough to falter her steps.

"Dad...I...I'm…"

"I'm sorry, Jinora."

Jinora looked up confused. Her eyes darted between her father and Lin and back.

"I shouldn't have overreacted the way I did. I treated you like..."

"I'm sorry too, dad. I...I should have told you sooner."

They both smiled in relief. She felt Lin's hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, now that _that's_ settled, how about we go have breakfast."

As they walked out, Lin nudged Jinora and whispered.

"And don't tell Kai about this little reconciliation. Let's have our own fun with him, shall we?"

Lin smiled and winked. Jinora smiled back as she saw the necklace more clearly. Her heart jumped when she saw the pendant - the earth and air symbols in complete harmony.

"Thanks...Aunt Lin."

**Author's Note:**

> It's so motivating to read comments and see the kudos and hits on my posts! Thanks for the continued support and I hope more and more of you reach out with suggestions, feedback, comments, and words of encouragement.


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